Frequent Flyer Program Customer Service On An Ever Downward Spiral - Aeroplan Probs

We just received an e-mail from Aeroplan stating that there has been some confusion about their recent changes to how long air miles can remain on a person's account and that they were writing to clear up any misunderstandings.

(I don't recall ever receiving any initial notification of any changes, but that's another story.) The changes they described essentially mean that Air Miles can now remain unused on a person's account for a period of seven years, after which they will be cancelled. I believe that in the past such air miles would remain indefinitely so long as there was credited activity on the account within the last three years. With the lowering of the Air Miles life span to seven years, they have also increased the required frequency of account activity to maintain the balance to once every year! Miss a year and, poof, they are all gone. In fairness it does not take a great deal of effort to create such activity. Purchasing gas at an Esso station apparently qualifies, as do other such activities. The challenge, then, is for each account holder to ensure they do not let more than one year pass between account activities.
Here's where it gets a little interesting. Each month, by automatic e-mail, account holders are sent a statement of their Air Miles. However, there is no indication on that statement when the one year period for account activity is due to expire. Bear in mind that Air Miles have a significant monetary value to account holders and, I am sure, Air Canada would cry very few tears if many customers' accounts were allowed to inadvertently lapse! I noted that on the clarification e-mail there was a separate e-mail address headed "Reply-To" which, one would think, invites a reply. Wrong! I sent a reply suggesting that expiry dates of holdings and, in particular, one year activity periods, be included on statements.

My e-mailed reply bounced. I was told that you cannot reply to the e-mail using the "Reply-To" or any other address on it. So, I went to their site and took the time to fill out all my concerns again on their contact form in the form of the offered web mail contact facility. I also added my displeasure about being invited to make a reply then immediately rebuffed electronically.

Within about an hour I received a further e-mail acknowledging receipt of my web mail but, with apologies, stating that "Below is a summary of your request and our response." Then "We are experiencing temporary technical difficulties with the Submit a Question functionality. Please call the Aeroplan Centre at 1-800-361-5373." That was their response. I called the captioned number, only to receive a recorded reply that their agents are busy, that there would be a significant wait to speak to anyone. I gave up. Who wouldn't? Strike this one up a win for Air Canada. They have successfully reinforced my resolve not to fly with them under any circumstances, unless there is absolutely no alternative.
They should change the slogan "Buyer Beware" to "Flier Beware"!

Similar experience here! However, after 5 years of inactivity our account was cleared of all miles. Ironic since they were cleared just before we attempted to use them. I did speak to someone on the phone, who was obviously fatigued from the many, many complaints she'd been receiving. She clearly was given no leeway to reinstate miles, and flatly refused to give a name or phone number of a supervisor. So they really don't plan on dealing with the fallout. Like you, I plan to not fly their airline again.